So tell me again, why is government the solution?

[Dr.Who]

I have been told that certain things can only be done by government. Usually there are a few examples given of things that the goverment does do, though not always well.

But it is quite a leap to start with a government that provides defense through the military and one that assumes the role of all charity.

So why is it that government is better at taking care of the poor for example? is it because our politicians are wiser than the rest of us? Maybe because government is kinder than us? Would it be because congress is more honest? Are political parties more virtuous?

Certainly no one is going to say because they have the ability to compel us to give what we should give of our own free will? Well yes that is what people say. But is this true? Tax revenues are stable no matter the tax rate. And since when is giving only because someone holds a gun to your head something to be proud of? Does taxation even collect more than private charity would if people did no have their money taken from them first? The last century saw the invention of hospitals for the poor and a whole worldwide system of giving that was far larger than even the government programs of today.

So why is government the solution when all I see is problems caused by government?!

 

[dogtowner]

Government is the problem, never the solution

 

[Texas_tea]

Government is the problem, never the solution

This is true and our Founding Fathers knew it ...

 

[Cruella]

I can see where local governments can implement policies to help the poor. But not the Federal government. They are too far removed. Every community's problems and resources are different.

 

[Texas_tea]

I can see where local governments can implement policies to help the poor. But not the Federal government. They are too far removed. Every community's problems and resources are different.

Well yes ....

And, moreover, our founding Fathers never intended that to be a duty of the Federal Government!

 

[Dr.Who]

Well yes ....

And, moreover, our founding Fathers never intended that to be a duty of the Federal Government!

The way I read the constitution it is pretty cleaar that not only was it not intended but it is not allowed. Yet somehow all of the federal gov reads it differently?!

 

[cashmcall]

Because they have changed their JOB description..

If you ask most people that basic question- they simply can't answer it. The reason is, they've either never given it any thought or their politics have been jaded by party platforms. So the question is simple.

Would any of you perform a job without knowing the description of that job? Of course not, in fact it is that very description of any job that draws you to a given field of study or subsequent occupation.

One other point. The job description is non negotiable. It may tweak slightly over time but it's core functions never deviate and they should never be manipulated into inefficiency.

The purpose of our government, originally a democratic republic, was the safety and protection of the vast majority of it's citizens. Not individuals. That was the job description. That's it.

In case you dispute what we were intended to be- I have included this. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Form_of_government#Forms_of_government

What I include as acceptable parts of our government's job description are things like defense, food and product safety, drug safety, regulating agencies like the FCC and the FAA, law enforcement agencies like ICE and the CIA. The judicial system and the penal system.

So what I am going to do now is throw out a number of government owned and tax payer funded things that don't have a thing to do with the safety and health of American citizens. In other words, government has absolutely no business in:

Home loans, mortgages, and lending. Fannie and Freddie. Whether an individual buys a home or not does not have a damn thing to do with the overall protection and safety of citizens.

The same holds true for student loans, grants, and Sallie Mae.

The same holds true for any area of commerce that government subsidizes. If it can't swim on it's own- it should be left to drown. That simple. I don't care whether we are talking dairy or wool growers.

The same is true for health care and insurance. That includes medicare and medicaid. Government had no business ever supplying individual health care. The needs of the majority cannot be overrun or placed beneath the needs of the individual. That's not a democracy.

The same is true for social security. IMO had government not stepped in people would have found ways to be self supporting. Once government steps in they skew the picture so badly that today- people who have been paying into social security cannot imagine a future with out it. They are held hostage by a government that has no problem seizing their money and they would like it back. Like they were promised.

So about the time our government begins to bail out failed banks and failed automakers- we begin to ask why? What does that have to do with the health and safety of the millions of people who pay taxes. And the answer to that is not a damn thing. Politicians hijack our tax money and give it to their crony bankers who fund their campaigns. They steal our tax money and deliver it to democratic voting blocks of unionized workers. The needs of the many are constantly undermined by selfish interests that think nothing of stealing money and delivering it to the few. Think TARP.

For many years, that has been the filter I use when assessing what government does. If the only filter ever used was- does this agency, let's say the Department of Energy, benefit the vast majority? Has this agency performed any mission other than sucking billions each year and providing no benefit? Has it reduced our dependence on foreign oil which was it's primary mission? What does the D.O.E. have to do with the health and safety of the citizens? The answer is- nothing. The D.O.E. fails every test I can think of. Yet there it is, sucking billions annually. I think the same of the Dept of Education and quite a few other agencies who also fail the same simple litmus test.

Does this benefit the majority of citizens or is it a gift from a crony President. Think Solyndra.

You have to have a position to defend it. Very often when I hear some lefty swinging for the fences, I ask him what is the government's job description. This usually leaves the lefts drooling because they have no idea what that is. I am talking educated, masters degree type folks. Clueless. In the years ahead as we all go bankrupt- people are going to look back and see these mistakes for what they were.

Maybe in the new government- they will see the benefit of assigning a job description and adhering to it.

 

[Gabriel_Bell]

Government is the problem, never the solution

A very very stupid remark, and Albert Camus would disagree with you.

 

[Phoenix68]

.

.
Ol' ReRon surely did prove THAT one!!!!
.​

"It all began in the early 1980's when El Salvador was in the midst of a brutal civil war. It was the height of the cold war and the Reagan administration, fearful of communist expansion in Central America supported the military-backed government with arms and financing. Seventy-five thousand were killed in the conflict, mostly at the hands of government forces. It's estimated that hundreds of thousands of Salvadorans fled their war-torn country seeking refuge in the United States."

.

.
.
Ronald Reagan Made Central America A Killing Field
June 2, 2021
.​

 

[Gabriel_Bell]

Reagan fooled most of the people, most of the time. He was a very very good actor.
He was an execrable and rather ignorant human being. We should have elected Carter and Mondale, who were not corporate hirelings as was Reagan.

 

[mark francis]

I have been told that certain things can only be done by government. Usually there are a few examples given of things that the goverment does do, though not always well.

But it is quite a leap to start with a government that provides defense through the military and one that assumes the role of all charity.

So why is it that government is better at taking care of the poor for example? is it because our politicians are wiser than the rest of us? Maybe because government is kinder than us? Would it be because congress is more honest? Are political parties more virtuous?

Certainly no one is going to say because they have the ability to compel us to give what we should give of our own free will? Well yes that is what people say. But is this true? Tax revenues are stable no matter the tax rate. And since when is giving only because someone holds a gun to your head something to be proud of? Does taxation even collect more than private charity would if people did no have their money taken from them first? The last century saw the invention of hospitals for the poor and a whole worldwide system of giving that was far larger than even the government programs of today.

So why is government the solution when all I see is problems caused by government?!

 

[Gabriel_Bell]

Government is the OBVIOUS solution to improve the welfare of the citizens.
Since the Republicans believe that government cannot be the solution, then they have no reason to run for office. There is no point in appointing vampires to run the blood banks, or hiring Col. Sanders to look after the well being of the chickens.

Reagan was a fraud from start to finish. After he was elected, homelessness increased and wages stopped increasing at a rate similar to that of productivity. Reagan fooled most of the people most of the time. He was an excellent actor, but one of the very WORST presidents ever.

 

[mark francis]

Government is the OBVIOUS solution to improve the welfare of the citizens.
Since the Republicans believe that government cannot be the solution, then they have no reason to run for office. There is no point in appointing vampires to run the blood banks, or hiring Col. Sanders to look after the well being of the chickens.

Reagan was a fraud from start to finish. After he was elected, homelessness increased and wages stopped increasing at a rate similar to that of productivity. Reagan fooled most of the people most of the time. He was an excellent actor, but one of the very WORST presidents ever.